Need to buy an A/C unit.

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Which AC unit would you choose?

  • SPT 6,000 BTU

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • LG Electronics 5,000 BTU

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Zenith 5,000 BTU

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • GE 6,300 BTU

    Votes: 1 14.3%

  • None of these, I have a better one. (Please comment.)

    Votes: 6 85.7%
  • Total voters
    7
3CsMommy

3CsMommy

My babies Rock!
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
2,663
Location
Western NY aka: Our Zoo. (We only lack a bird.)
Until now, my most important chin-related purchase has been my Ferret Nation cage. I could use some input on air conditioners.

I have a small apartment on the top floor of a divided/renovated Victorian house ca: 1900. The largest rooms are the bedroom and living room, each are 10' x 12'(ish). The chins are in the bedroom, and I rarely use the living room. However, between the two is the kitchen at about 10' x 8'. It's connected directly to the bedroom, so I'm essentially cooling those two rooms together.

The bathroom connects to the living room near the front door and is about 6'x8'. That means I'm cooling, at most, 400 sq. feet, which the calculators tell me should be done w/ a 5,000 or 6,000 BTU unit. I'm on the shaded side of the house with large trees in front of the windows, but I'm also on the top floor. It's been a struggle to keep the bedroom at 68* this winter, and that's with both radiators turned completely off, one window w/ a small hole in it and at least one window open about 2" at all times. Since warm weather is coming, I need to get this AC unit fairly soon.

I've got 4 possibilities in mind:

1. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I've never heard of that brand, but it's a larger BTU unit and has auto restart if the power goes out, as well as a digital thermostat.

2. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

This one is a name brand, and I like that it's a washable filter w/ a remote and timer. But, no mention of auto restart.

3. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Also a name brand, and one I've had good luck with in other products, but the attraction of this one is mostly price. It doesn't have the auto restart or the digital thermostat.

4. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...-_-202562657-_-202562658-_-N&locStoreNum=1234

This one looks to be a good choice at first with the digital thermostat, remote control, and timer, but there's no mention of an automatic restart. It's probably big enough to cool the entire apartment if I want, but it's also the heaviest unit, and I've got a bad back w/ little help for things like installation.

So, which would you put in your bedroom/chin room window? Or do you have a better unit that I should look into?

:banghead:
 
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If it was me I would go with at least 8k btu and you absolutely have to have auto restart. I have had 2 GE and would never have another. They break down (start dripping inside the house) way too soon (within a couple of years)
 
My self I would never buy one less than 10,000 btu's which is what I use in our bedrooms at home. In the barn I use 24,000 btu units. I have had a couple of 5000 and 6500 units before and they did not really do much for cooling the bedroom off.
 
I think it depends on the brand as well. I used a 5,000 BTU to cool my bedroom and it never got above 68, even in the dead summer. I also lived in a trailer at that time which had absolutely no insulation. When that one died I got a used 6,000 BTU off craigslist and that also worked really well to cool the bedroom.
 
I don't know too much about AC units, but we use the portable kind. We have a Soleus Air brand that we bought at Target 5 years ago and it still works great in the chinnie room. I use it all summer long. We bought another brand for another room and it broke after 2 years, so now we will only buy Soleus.
 
Thanks for the input everybody. Here I'm limited to Walmart, Home Depot, and a mom n' pop hardware store for physical store fronts to go push buttons and turn dials, so I'm pretty much limited to mail order. My biggest concern is auto restart since the wiring in this building isn't as reliable as it could be. We had a few fuses blow this winter from people running space heaters on the lower floors.

Today at its worst the living room hit 80*. I was able to keep the chins around 73 w/ all the windows open, but I have to get screens from my landlord. The apartment is currently full of mufflehead flies, but at least the cats are entertained. :)
 
I agree with those who said to get one with a higher btu than 5,000. Being on the 2nd floor is going to make it a lot harder to cool down unless the people below you have AC and keep it in the 60s or low 70s.


This one is 8,000 but and does have automatic restart. Page 17 of the users guide states such, but the home depot website does not mention it.
http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
 
Get at least an 8,000 BTU one. By your own calculations, you want to cool about 400 sq ft. The 8,000 BTUs say they cool only about 350-400 sq ft. A 10,000 BTU would probably be even better suited to your needs, but I think you should get by just fine with the 8,000 BTU.

I just bought the 8,000 BTU Frigidaire last year and had a similar struggle in researching, trying to determine which ones would kick back on if power flickers/fails. Most don't say on the box. Some say in the manual (most of which can be found online). Some you just have to try and see. The good news is, most new ones will come back on. (And most all have a washable filter.)

I really like my newer Frigidaire. It has a timer, sleep mode, remote, thermostat that works well, and other stuff I don't really need but its nice to have.

I would go with this one:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/8-000-BTU...r-Window-Air-Conditioner-with-Remote/14321334

The GE is a bit cheaper though:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/General-Electric-8-000-BTU-Electronic-Air-Conditioner/15860642

Or at Home Depot, the LG:
http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
(Though in searching last year, I wasn't impressed with the reviews on the LGs.)

Or the same GE at Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You shouldn't have any trouble returning it to the store if turns out to be not quite what you want. I recommend plugging it in and testing it out before installing it in the window. Turn it on, unplug it to simulate power failure, and plug it back in to make sure it comes back on again.
 
I just purchased this one last month.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Frigida...hite/9691888.p?id=1218150177811&skuId=9691888

It works good enough for me. I freeze with it on sometimes. I use it just for my bedroom, the remote is awesome hah. And the timer let's u start it before u get back home for a nice chilled bedroom. I live in south Florida, so I also have central Ac, I just wanted something else to keep my room cool. Works great and is cheaper at best buy then walmart, target, home depot or lows. I was shocked.
 
Thanks for the links Alison and Steve!

I'm already leery of GE just from personal experience w/ their microwaves and box fans. Where I'm stuck regarding size (6,000 BTU v 8,000 BTU) is that I can close off the living room and bathroom. If I do that, I think a 5,000 or 6,000 would keep the boys comfy if I put it in the proper window (alley side v above the porch roof), but then again, I'm also on the 3rd floor. For an extra $60 I might as well get the one that's going to do the whole apartment if I need it, and since the living room window was painted shut some time before I was born, it might come in handy.

Gads this is frustrating!
 
definitely keeping an eye on this thread. i'm going to need at least 5,000 BTU before summer rolls around. (i keep my chin in my small bedroom)
 
ticklechin said:
The more BTU the better, I have a 10k BTU in their room, its overkill but it cools the room quick.
Click to expand...

I was at the Pet Expo the other day and visited the OC Pocket Pets station. They had (I think) 5 chins on display for adoption and a few feet away from them I noticed an LG portable air conditioning unit. It was very obviously doing its job because I noticed the cold front immediately upon walking under the tent. Wish I caught what model and how many BTUs it was.
 
Also make sure the one you buy has automatic restart if the power goes out if possible, when I bought mine a few years ago most did not and I had to shop around to find one.
 
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